Panic cord
by ShadowsOnTheMoon
Summary: Their whole relationship was a mess, but it was the most wonderful thing in Hanna's life. Now not only is her relationship over, the love of her life has been kidnapped, and they've only got three days to find her.
1. Prologue

**Hello! I know, I know, why am I starting a new story when I have so many in progress? Well, this was a prompt from TrustInFaith, and I hate to disappoint, so here I am with a brand-new Hannily story. I'm almost ready to come off my hiatus, so I'll be updating my other stories soon (including ****_Iridescence_****, ****_C'est la guerre_****, ****_Fearless_****, and ****_Shiny_****) - keep an eye out. For now, though, please enjoy the prologue to my new story, and do let me know what you think! :)**

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It had been a long day. All Emily wanted to do was go home and collapse on her bed, but she'd promised that she'd swing by Spencer's after swim practice. As she was packing up her gear, tucking her cap away in her locker and pulling out her dry clothes, she debated calling her to cancel their study date. But she was close to failing French, and Spencer was, as usual, top of the class. If she didn't kick it into high gear and start seriously studying, she would be even further behind than she already was. And who better to help her than Spencer Hastings, Queen of Studying?

With a sigh she let her locker swing closed and started drying her hair with her towel, feeling lighter by the second. She'd just study with Spencer for an hour or two, and then she could go home. She could have a nice, long shower, get into her most comfortable pyjamas, and spend the rest of the evening listening to music and flicking through magazines. That sounded good.

But as soon as she was dry and dressed, exhaustion started to creep in again. She loved Spencer, but that girl was intense; she wasn't sure she could handle her without some kind of pick-me-up. She'd drop by the Brew on her way to Spencer's, and pick up some coffee. Draping her towel over her arm – she was taking it home to give it a thorough clean, since it was starting to smell nauseatingly like chlorine – she used her free hand to text Spencer.

**I'm stopping by the Brew on my way. Want anything?**

She received the reply before she'd even reached the door.

**Uh, duh.**

Stifling a laugh, she hoisted her bag further up her shoulder and fished around in her pockets for loose change. She'd found about three dollars fifty before she remembered that she had a five dollar bill stuffed in her spare shoes in her locker. That would be enough to get them both a cup of coffee and maybe a sugar-filled muffin or something to get them through studying – not that Spencer would need it. Studying was enough to give her a natural high; she could run on nothing but caffeine and textbooks for days.

Wishing she was anywhere near as enthusiastic, Emily turned around and made her way back to her locker. As she searched around in her locker for the money, she heard a noise from behind her. Her heartbeat kicked it into double pace as she spun around, peering into the gloom. She was reasonably sure she was the only one here; she'd had such a long shower that everyone else had left by the time she got out. That meant it was not only quiet and totally empty, but also dark – all but one of the lights had been turned off. She couldn't see anything, but she couldn't shake the feeling that there was someone else here.

"Hello?" she called softly, half-hoping for an answer but knowing that if she received one it would probably give her a heart attack. "Is there anybody here?"

Nothing but silence greeted her, and her apprehension was dulled a little by relief. For the past few months she and her friends had been getting threatening messages from someone called 'A', and it had put them all on edge. They'd had a few hunches and theories about who it could be, but they hadn't been able to prove anything so far. It made her incredibly uneasy, knowing there was _somebody_ out there intent on torturing her and her friends. And it made her feel helpless, knowing she couldn't do anything to stop them or protect her friends.

The silence stretched on, and she worked hard to convince herself that she was alone. So far A hadn't actually hurt any of them – it was all just taunting messages and occasionally elaborate setups, but nothing that would actually hurt them. It wasn't like A was going to jump out of the shadows and attack her. There was only one person who had done that to her, but she didn't like to think about that. She slammed her locker closed and checked her phone, but there were no messages. If A was going to do something, they would at least taunt her about it first.

Taking a deep, steadying breath, she headed for the door again, repeating, "There's no one here" under her breath. This time when she heard a noise, there was no time to try to convince herself that it was just her imagination.

There was a flash of even darker darkness, visible against the shadows. There was the sound of shoes scuffing on the floor. There was a sharp, blinding pain. She hit the floor before she even had time to scream.

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	2. Shadows to ghosts

**Two reviews? Come on, guys, you can do better than that. I'm quite enjoying writing this story, so I'll keep updating even if nobody reviews - but I'm juggling about five other stories at the moment, and the ones with the most reviews are the ones I'll be working on most, so if you want me to keep working on this and updating quickly, let me know by following/favoriting/reviewing! Thank you to insertnameherex and TrustInFaith for your reviews - everyone else, follow their lead. ;)**

**Also, if you'd be so kind, spread the word. My first Hannily story ended up with quite a following, and I'd love to see some old readers and new ones alike, so if you come across anyone who you think might enjoy this story, let them know. The more the merrier.**

**Anyway. Here's the first proper chapter. Most, if not all, of this will be from Hanna's POV, each chapter starting with a flashback and most likely finishing with a cliffhanger. Hold onto your hearts and your hats, it's gonna be a bumpy ride...**

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_Hanna couldn't remember the last time she was up this early. The sun had barely even risen, and even after two cups of coffee she could only just keep her eyes open while she made her way to school. Class wouldn't start for another hour, and normally she would be comfortably curled up in bed right now. Instead she was carefully opening the door to the pool, wondering if she would at least have time to put some makeup on before practice ended._

_When she stepped inside, the only sound was the gentle swish of bodies moving through water and the occasional murmured word of encouragement. Letting the door swing closed behind her, she made her way up to the bleachers and settled down on a seat up the back. There were only four girls in the water, and even from this distance she could pick out Emily: she was the one way out in front, her toned arms cleaving the water effortlessly, her legs kicking out strongly, looking as attractive as Hanna had ever seen her._

_Paige was behind Emily; they seemed to be racing, and when they reached the end of the pool they stopped and exchanged a few friendly words. The other two girls were taking it more slowly, apparently focussed on warming up rather than racing. Hanna took out her makeup bag and her pocket mirror, and in a few minutes had managed to disguise her lack of sleep with some skilful application of eye-shadow and blush. By the time practice had finished she was even feeling a little more than half-awake, and by reminding herself of why she was here in the first place she was able to wait patiently – well, as patiently as Hanna was capable of waiting, anyway._

_She crossed one leg over the other and sipped her coffee, watching as Emily climbed out of the pool and wrapped a towel around herself. Emily looked around, still talking to Paige, and then she caught Hanna's eye. As soon as Emily looked at her, Hanna couldn't stop a smile creeping across her face. She gave a shy wave, careful not to give too much away to Paige, who smiled at her and then excused herself, meeting up with the other two swimmers on their way to the locker room. Emily waved a farewell to them, and then came over to Hanna, both of them sporting smiles that could light up the room._

_"Good morning," Hanna crooned as Emily sat down beside her._

_"Thanks for coming." Emily shot a look down at the pool, making sure the other girls were out of sight, before she leaned in and pressed her lips against Hanna's._

_"Well with a welcome like that, how could I resist?" Hanna mumbled after the kiss._

_Emily smiled, intertwining her fingers with Hanna's. "I just don't want you to forget how much I love you."_

_"I could never forget." Hanna half-closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of Emily's skin against hers, wishing they could just ditch school and spend the day together. She opened her mouth to suggest it, but Emily cut across._

_"We're not skipping school, Han."_

_"Why not?" Hanna pouted and batted her eyelashes, a tactic that usually turned Emily to butter in her hands._

_"Because if I fail any of my classes I could lose my spot on the swim team," Emily explained, yet again. "And," she added, lowering her voice, "you wouldn't want to miss the opportunity to see me like this, would you?"_

_As she finished speaking she stood up, letting her towel fall to the ground. Hanna's heart skipped a beat as she looked at her, taking in Emily's beautiful figure, imagining running her hands down the other girl's thighs. "No, I wouldn't want to miss that."_

_Before Emily could respond there was the sound of a door closing, and a second later Paige and the other girls came out of the locker room, fully clothed and chattering about their upcoming meet. Emily's eyes widened in horror and she hurriedly swept her towel off the ground, wrapping it around herself and doing her best to seem nonchalant._

_The other girls didn't look up as they made their way around the pool and out into the main building. The second the door closed Hanna and Emily let out a collective sigh of relief. Although they'd been dating for a while, the fear of being found out was a strong as it had always been. At first they'd only intended for it to be a temporary thing, just until they were sure their relationship was stable enough to withstand any scrutiny, but as time went by they both grew more reluctant to open up about it._

_"That was close," Emily muttered._

_"Yeah," Hanna agreed, her eyes still on the closed door. Beyond that door was a whole school full of people she had to keep this secret from, people who might judge her if they found out the truth. But here, right beside her, was the only person whose opinion she cared about. The only person who knew her inside and out and loved her anyway. The only person she needed._

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The setting sun slipped through Hanna's curtains, warming up her cold hands as she flicked through one fashion magazine after another. It wasn't that she particularly wanted anything she came across - it was just that it was the only way to keep her mind off the mounting pile of homework that she really didn't want to do. She'd debated calling Spencer for help, but that would mean she would actually have to work, and she didn't feel like that. So she tossed aside another magazine, took a sip of her Mountain Dew, and prepared to waste another half hour.

After a couple of pages, though, her mind started drifting. She found herself wondering what the other girls were up to, and although she tried to avoid it, her thoughts got stuck on one girl in particular. Ever since she and Emily had broken up, the two hadn't been close. When Aria had come back from Iceland the group had reformed, and for a while Hanna had thought that things would go back to normal. She had her friends back, and even though Alison was gone, maybe they could still be happy.

The optimism didn't last long. Emily would hardly look her in the eyes, and Hanna found herself feeling lost. After all they'd been through, it hurt that Emily seemingly didn't want anything to do with her. Yet on another level, it made sense. After everything that had happened, she couldn't blame her.

She couldn't count the number of times she'd tried to apologize to Emily. Turning to her during class, finding her at lunch, going to her house after school. But every time she would wimp out and at the last minute ask her for a pencil or if she wanted to get some coffee. She tried not to think about the whole thing too much, but it was like that cheap pair of shoes she got from the discount store down the street; she'd thought that it would just take a while to wear them in, but the longer she wore them the more they hurt, until she had to take them off and throw them across the room.

She was halfway through her next magazine when a noise from downstairs made her sit bolt upright, her heart pounding. Since this mess with A started, Hanna had become hyper-aware of everything. Every noise could be A coming to get her; every shadow was A spying on her; every text message was another threat or demand. And the sound of her front door creaking open was definitely cause for alarm.

"Hello?" she called out, half rising from her bed. "Mom, is that you?"

Her mom wasn't meant to be home for another couple of hours, and none of her friends had said they were coming over. She was also about ninety five percent sure the front door was locked, which meant that the person either had a key – or had broken in. Her ears were straining to her anything else, and she wasn't sure if she was hoping for silence or some indication of what was down there. If it was silent she could pretend she hadn't heard anything, or that she'd imagined it; but if she heard something else, maybe that would be enough to tell her who – or what – was downstairs.

Just as she was convincing herself that she was definitely alone, she heard another noise. Like someone walking across the floor, hesitantly, slowly, like someone who shouldn't be there. Not the way her mother or her friends would walk.

Gathering all her courage, she stood up and quickly walked over to the door, her heartbeat spiking with every footstep. By the time she reached the door it sounded like whoever it was had reached the landing, and she had to take a deep breath before she could force herself to reach for the handle. She hesitated just a second, and then in one quick movement flung the door open. There was someone standing on the other side, looking as surprised as Hanna felt.

"Mona!" Hanna exclaimed, stumbling back a step in relief. "God. You scared the hell out of me."

"My bad," Mona said smoothly, stepping inside without waiting for an invitation. "But I have something that might make up for it."

She withdrew a flyer from her bag, handing it to Hanna with a wicked grin.

"A sale," Hanna said, raising her eyebrows as she skimmed the notice.

"Not just any sale," Mona said, pointing to the headline. "A one-day-only sale. That one day being today. What do you say? Up for a little late-night shopping?"

Hanna was already reaching for her handbag. "Aren't I always?"

Two hours later Hanna trudged through her front door, laden with shopping bags. She called a farewell to Mona over her shoulder, closing the door behind her with her foot as she made her way into the kitchen. She'd barely put her bags down when her phone went off. Using one hand to flip open her cell, she sat down at the kitchen table and used the other hand to open her laptop.

"Hey Spence," she said, resting her cell between her ear and shoulder so she could use her free hand to sign into her computer.

"Hanna, have you heard from Emily?"

Unable to resist the way her name made her heart shudder, even after all this time, Hanna replied, "No, not since school. Why?"

"We were meant to have a study date this afternoon, but she never showed."

"Well, have you talked to Aria? Maybe she knows -"

"She doesn't," Spencer interrupted, sounding slightly anxious. "I called Emily's house and her mother said she hasn't seen her all day. Do you think something bad happened to her? Do you think… _A_ got to her?"

"Spence, don't think like that. She probably just got caught up at swim practice or -" Hanna trailed off as an email message filled the screen. It was the kind of message that made her heart drop to the floor and her blood run cold. Spencer's voice faded into background noise as Hanna's mind went into overtime trying to process the message, unable to comprehend the horror it contained.

"Han? Hanna. Are you listening to me?" Spencer's voice broke through her thoughts, sounding more panicked by the second. "I'm saying, it's possible that something happened to her. Like -"

"A took her." Hanna licked her dry lips, waiting for her heart to start beating again.

"Right," Spencer said, her words hitching in her throat. "Like A took her, or Ben got to her, or -"

"No," Hanna interrupted, barely able to choke out the words. "I'm telling you. A took her."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure." Hanna swallowed around the lump in her throat. "You have to get here. Now."

Then without another word she hung up and stared at the image on the screen in front of her: Emily, tied to a chair, blood running down her face while a black-hooded figure stood behind her holding a knife. And below that, a message: _You have three days to find her, or the police will find what's left of her. –A_

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	3. Give me a sign

**Wow, thanks for the reviews! I knew you guys could do better than two. :p**

**Shoutout to the ****Guest**** who left their review all in caps (that's exactly the reaction I'm aiming for) and to ****Bagilia**** for admitting your love for Hannily... my plan is working.**

**As always, review, and the faster you do the quicker I'll get the next update out. See you next chapter, or in one of my other stories, or wherever we next cross paths.**

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_"Lampoon." Spencer peered at Hanna over the top of her book, waiting for her to answer. They were seated in the cafeteria after school, when most people had gone home; but even without the distraction of other students, Hanna was finding it hard to concentrate._

_She absently swirled her spoon through her mug of tea, watching little bubbles rise up in the centre. "Uhm…"_

_"Hanna," Spencer said sternly. "Come on. We've been at this for twenty minutes and you haven't got a single question right."_

_"We can't all be geniuses," Hanna muttered, setting her spoon down and proceeding to fiddle with her necklace._

_"No, but you _can_ put effort in and pass this test."_

_"Fine." Hanna sighed, sat up straighter, and closed her eyes to concentrate. "Lampoon… lampoon… is that when you hang a lamp from a boat? Like a harpoon, but prettier?"_

_Spencer closed her book and started rubbing her temples. "Just because it _sounds_ like something doesn't mean that's what it _is_."_

_"Well I don't know what it means!" Hanna threw her hands up in frustration. "I don't get it, and I don't care about it, and I don't see how it's going to help me at all."_

_"Once you finish high school it probably won't help you," Spencer admitted. "But it will help you pass English, so you need to learn it."_

_Hanna slumped down, resting her head in her hands. "I'm never going to get this."_

_Spencer took a deep breath, put on her best 'understanding' face, and said patiently, "You will. You just need to apply yourself." Seeing that Hanna was still reluctant, she added, "I think that's enough for today. How about we take a break, and tackle it tomorrow afternoon. Sound good?"_

_"I look forward to it."_

_Rolling her eyes at the sarcasm, Spencer gathered up her things, said farewell, and hurried off to her next student or meeting or whatever extracurricular she had on. Hanna stayed sitting, sipping on her tea and wishing her study-headache would go away. She was meant to be meeting Sean in half an hour, which was sure to only exacerbate her headache. She liked him well enough, but he had a habit of assuming she was interested in everything he had to say – which she wasn't._

_She'd almost finished her tea when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Expecting it to be Sean, she turned, and was pleasantly surprised. "Em!"_

_"Hey." Emily slid into the seat beside her, giving her a warm smile. "How are you?"_

_Hanna shrugged. "I'm in between studying with Spencer and meeting up with Sean. How do you think I am?"_

_"Well, I know something that might make you feel better."_

_Before Hanna knew what was happening Emily was kissing her. It took her a second to come to her senses, but then she pushed Emily away. "Are you crazy? Someone could see us."_

_"There's no one here," Emily said, and Hanna felt a twinge of guilt at the hurt that flashed through the other girl's eyes. "Besides, would it be so bad if anyone did see?"_

_"Uh, yeah." Hanna shuffled over so she was further away from Emily; she was reasonably sure they were alone, but it never hurt to be careful. "If we wanted people to know, we wouldn't be dating Sean and Ben on the side. And at least we'd tell the guys first."_

_"Well, why don't we?" Emily reached out and rested her hand on Hanna's, and the blonde girl did her best not to jerk it away._

_"Em, come on," she said, lowering her gaze. "You know we can't do that."_

_"Why not? We've been dating for over a month now. Don't you think it's time to start telling people?"_

_"No," Hanna said quickly, and she felt Emily tense up in response. "I'm sorry, but I'm not ready for that. I feel… safer, keeping this a secret. As long as people think you're dating Ben and I'm dating Sean, they're not going to bother us. And I for one do not want to be bothered."_

_Emily leaned back, letting go of Hanna's hand, and surveyed the other girl. "That's only a temporary solution. You know that, Hanna. We can't keep pretending to date the guys. It's not fair to us, or them, or to the people who care about us."_

_"It may not be fair, but it's easier, isn't it?" Hanna pressed. "I don't want people looking at us differently."_

_Emily bit her lip. "I don't know how some of the school would react, but don't you think we should at least tell the others? Spencer and Aria would be fine with it, and Ali…"_

_"You really think Ali's going to just accept it? Don't you remember all those things she said when she came back from summer camp and told us about her cabin mate who kissed a girl?"_

_"Of course I remember, but that was ages ago. And it's not like we're just some girl she met on camp. We're her _friends_."_

_"That doesn't mean she's going to be any nicer," Hanna pointed out. "Look, Em, I know you're all eager to come out and be open and all that, which is well and good for you, but I'm just not there yet. I need some time."_

_Emily didn't answer right away. She folded her hands in her lap, took a deep breath, and then said, "You're right. I'm sorry. I don't want to rush you; I just don't like keeping this a secret."_

_"It won't be forever," Hanna promised, and this time she was the one to reach for her girlfriend's hand. "Just until I'm ready."_

_"Fine. You should go meet up with Sean. I'm going to see Ben later on, but maybe we can hang out after that?"_

_"I'd like that." _

_Emily picked up her bag and got to her feet. "I suppose it can't be too bad. Ben and Sean are good guys, right?"_

_"Yeah," Hanna agreed with a tired sort of smile. "What's the worst that could happen?"_

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Within ten minutes Spencer and Aria had arrived, and all three were now crowded around Hanna's computer. They'd been staring at the picture for a full minute, and aside from the initial exclamations of horror, nothing had been said. The other two girls had also received the email, and none of them knew what to do about it. Why had A taken Emily? And, more importantly, how could they find her?

"I can't look at this anymore," Aria announced, turning around and folding her arms.

"Close it," Spencer added, and Hanna shut the laptop.

But the image was firmly stuck in all of their minds, and even though it wasn't on the screen anymore they could all see it clearly. Hanna shut her eyes tight, but the more she tried not to see it, the more salient it became in her mind.

"We have to do something," she burst out, standing up and walking purposefully over to the door. Then she realized that walking to the door actually didn't serve a purpose, but since she couldn't stand to sit still she started pacing.

"Okay," Spencer said, her voice tight with worry. "Let's try to look at this logically. A took Emily. But I don't think she – he – they – want to kill her. If they did, they wouldn't have told us. So they must want something. I think we should wait for another clue."

Hanna was so distracted by the way that Spencer was the only one who would be game enough to use the word 'kill' in a situation like this that it took her a few seconds to process what she'd actually said. "Wait. You want us to do _nothing_? Are you not paying attention? A has Emily. She is _torturing_ her. And you're suggesting we, what, sit around drinking tea or something?"

"Hanna, that's not fair," Aria said, since Spencer was too caught off-guard to speak. "She didn't mean we should pretend like nothing's wrong. Spencer's just saying there's not much we can do at the moment, and she's right. We don't know what A wants or where Emily is, so there's no use rushing off if we don't even know what we're rushing _into_."

Spencer found her voice and added, "I know how you feel about her, but -"

"Felt," Hanna interrupted harshly. "Past tense. And it's not even about that. Emily is our friend. A is our enemy. Therefore, we should be out there _looking_ for her."

"And where do you propose we start?" Spencer asked, folding her arms. "That picture – it could have been taken in any old house. There's nothing in it that would tell us where to look."

Unable to think of a comeback, Hanna just huffed and kept pacing. Aria pulled out her phone, winced at the picture of Emily that was still open on her screen, and then navigated to another page and started typing.

"Aria, what are you doing?" Spencer raised an eyebrow, evidently thinking that now was not the time to be social.

"I was meant to be meeting Ezra tonight," Aria replied, not looking up. She had only recently come clean to the girls about her involvement with their English teacher, and none of them were entirely sure how to react to it. "Obviously that's not happening now, so I'm just texting him to cancel our date."

"You can still go," Spencer said, which caused Aria to jerk her gaze up to her. "Just because this happened doesn't mean you shouldn't have fun."

"Spence, no. Do you really think I'm going to be able to concentrate on anything else when Emily is…" She shook her head, unable to continue, and then turned to Hanna. "For the love of god, would you stop pacing?"

Hanna pulled up short, coming to a stop in front of her dresser. "Sorry. I'm just…" She trailed off, running her hands through her hair in frustration.

"I know." Spencer rested her hand on Hanna's shoulder, a much more comforting gesture than anything she could say. "We'll work it out, sweetie."

Aria put her cell away and leaned back in her chair, staring morosely at a smudge on the table. "What does A want?" she muttered, rubbing the smudge half-heartedly.

Hanna shrugged Spencer's hand off and started pacing again. Since she'd received that email, everything else had slipped from her mind. She didn't care about her homework or the fact that she had a test tomorrow or even the fact that she'd probably spent way too much money at the store today. None of that mattered, because Emily was… She didn't even want to contemplate it, but her mind was particularly masochistic and kept feeding her all sorts of horrible scenarios, most of which ended with them not finding Emily until it was too late.

She wasn't going to let that happen if she could help it, but she wasn't sure she _could_ help it – and that made her hate herself more than she already did. There were so many things she never got to tell Emily, so many things she needed to explain and apologize for, and what if she never got the chance? What if she never saw her again?

The sound of Spencer slapping her hand against the windowsill jerked Hanna back into reality.

"A looks at this like a game," Spencer said slowly. "They gave us three days, right? That seems like an odd amount if they're just going to kill her. Which means we have time to try and get her back. A wants us to play along, and maybe if we follow their rules we can save her."

"When has A ever followed any rules?" Hanna asked bitterly. "She's as good as -"

"Don't say it," Aria snapped, her harshness softened by the concern that was evident in her voice. "Don't even think it. We'll get her back, Han."

"Maybe…" Spencer said thoughtfully, walking over to Hanna's computer and nudging Aria out of the seat. Aria stood up reluctantly, giving Spencer a look that was part confusion and part irritation, and then stepped out of the way while Spencer quickly typed something on the computer. "There," she announced, turning around.

Hanna glanced at the screen. "What did you just do?"

"I replied to the email," Spencer explained, earning her shocked looks from the other two girls. "If A wants to make this a game, we have to play along. Emily's life may depend on it."

"So what did you say?" Aria asked, peering at the screen.

"Just that we want to get Emily back, and we want to know what A wants from us. I thought maybe if -" Spencer broke off as a beeping sound came from the computer.

With shaking hands Aria opened the new email and read it, her eyes widening with each word. Then, while the others held their breath, she read it out loud. "_I spy with my little eye three little liars high and dry. But somebody's missing, where could she be? To come to the rescue, you'll have to find me. –A._" She scrolled down and added, "There's a picture, too. It looks like…"

"The outside of my house," Hanna finished, already halfway to the door. The others followed her downstairs, crowding around her as she threw open the door and looked out. She was about to breathe a sigh of relief when she caught sight of a small brown envelope on the doorstep. "It's addressed to all of us," she said, picking it up and coming back inside.

"Open it," Spencer urged, and Hanna tore the seal and pulled out a piece of paper.

They all peered over her shoulder to read the message. _A shark needs water, and Emily needs you. The clock is ticking. –A_

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**Sorry not sorry. Gotta keep you interested somehow, right? ;)**


	4. An atom in a sea

**Thanks for the reviews last time, guys. That's exactly the reaction I was hoping for. Unfortunately, this may be my last update for a while. I won't be writing much fanfic during November as it's NaNo month so I'll be working on that (plus exams, plus an injury that may slow down my writing speed by about half anyway). So please be patient, know I haven't forgotten this story, and I'll update as soon as I can. See you next time, and don't forget to review.**

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_"I think I heard her scream."_

_The storm raging outside seemed only to accentuate the silence inside the barn as the implications of Spencer's words hit them._

_"What?" Aria snapped, her voice squeaking with fear, pushing past and peering into the yard._

_It was almost pitch black now, and the rain had picked up in the last hour so that it was impossible to see anything beyond a few feet away. With a nervous glance at the others, Aria squared her shoulders and marched into the yard. After a second of hesitation, Hanna followed and then Emily, and Spencer brought up the rear._

_They searched the yard for almost half an hour, and then they all trudged back inside, wet and cold and shivering. And, most of all, disheartened. There was no sign of Ali – and even if there had been, the rain would have washed it all away. They did a quick sweep of the barn, but she was nowhere to be found._

_The four remaining girls assembled in an uneasy huddle in the middle of the floor of the barn, at a loss. Ali was the leader, the one who made the decisions and kept them all together. Without her, they didn't seem right. They were just an assortment of pieces that didn't quite fit, held together in this instance by hope and by fear. Hope that Ali would come back, fear that she wouldn't._

_One by one they left. Hanna was the last; she turned back on the path, and saw Spencer leaning against the doorframe of the barn. Hanna tried to think of something to say, but saying something like 'She'll come back' seemed too optimistic, and 'It'll be okay' was too trite. She settled for a pained kind of smile, but worried it didn't convey the reassurance she was aiming for. She needn't have worried, since Spencer didn't even see._

_That was the last time Hanna went to Spencer's house for a year. It was the second last time she spoke to Aria, since the Montgomery family up and left for Iceland soon after Ali's disappearance. It still sent uncomfortable shudders down Hanna's spine to hear the word. She wasn't just away, she was _missing_. And although nobody wanted to speak about it, there was always the fear that she wouldn't come back._

_As time passed, it became even more unlikely that Ali would return. Spencer distanced herself from the others, declining their invitations to sleep over or hang out, and slowly the invitations dwindled away to nothing. Aside from the odd shared look in the hall, accompanied by a heavy silence born from secrets and uncertainty, Hanna had minimal interaction with her._

_One afternoon, a few months after Ali had officially been declared missing – and about a month after the first classmate had dared to suggest the D word – Hanna was sitting next to Mona near the football field. Mona had managed to worm her way into Hanna's life, and Hanna had long since stopped fighting. Although Mona had always been _that_ girl, the one that Ali always laughed about behind her back – and even to her face – she was actually a lot more intelligent and cool than Hanna had given her credit for. Besides, Ali was gone, so why should her opinion matter?_

_"Swap?" Mona suggested, offering up a container holding a few pieces of carrot._

_"Sure," Hanna replied, handing over her bowl of celery sticks. She and Mona had decided that they were both going to lose weight and become the new It girls – it felt almost disrespectful to Ali, to be trying to take over her position like that, but Mona assured her that it was okay. It was their right, she said, to rule the school. It was their responsibility to step up and take control. And most importantly, it was their lives, their reputations, which could be made so much better._

_"There's a new hair salon opening tomorrow," Mona said, nibbling on a celery stick and washing it down with water from a bottle decorated with flowers. "They're supposed to be quite good – they have another store down in Philly, and my friend raves about it – so I was thinking we could go and check it out sometime this week."_

_"Mhm," Hanna murmured, her eyes fixed on something halfway across the field. She'd recognize her anywhere; the way she did her hair, the way she moved, even the shirt she was wearing. It was heart-achingly familiar, and Hanna had even half-risen from her seat before she came to her senses._

_She and Emily hadn't really spoken since Ali disappeared. Of all the things she'd lost, her relationship with Emily hurt the most. They were still technically dating, but it didn't feel like it. They didn't sit together at lunch, and they'd only see each other outside of school every couple of weeks. Ben, the guy Emily had been dating as a way to keep her orientation secret, had made it clear that he didn't want Emily hanging around with 'those girls', meaning anyone who had been friends with Alison, and, to Hanna's surprise, Emily had listened._

_Hanna was still 'dating' Sean, but she had yet to feel anything for him besides the faintest flicker of what she felt for Emily. She had a feeling Sean knew something was wrong, but she couldn't talk about it – of course she couldn't talk about it. What was she supposed to say? 'My secret girlfriend isn't talking to me'? That would go down well._

_As she turned her attention back to Mona, she saw a flash of movement, and then she heard a faint thud. Her head whipped around, and she was on her feet and off across the field before Mona could even ask what was going on. Hanna still hadn't lost as much weight as she would like, and she could feel her arms jiggling and she knew her legs probably looked chubby in the ridiculously tight leggings she was wearing (Mona's idea, not hers; 'if you want to _feel_ confident, you have to start _looking_ confident')._

_Emily was sprawled out on the grass, her eyes closed and the tiniest spec of blood visible on her forehead. By the time Hanna reached her she was already sitting up, looking groggily around. Someone from the swim team was crouched beside her, asking what happened and if she needed the nurse._

_"Must have tripped," Emily mumbled. "I'll be fine."_

_She stood up slowly, ignoring the proffered hands, and swayed for a moment before finding her balance._

_"Are you sure you're okay?" Hanna asked, and Emily focused her sharp gaze on her, as if she hadn't noticed that her girlfriend was there._

_"I'm fine," Emily said firmly, then brushed past her and walked off._

_Hanna stared after her helplessly. Every time Emily walked away, it felt like she was losing a little bit more of her._

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

"Are you sure?" Hanna adjusted her grip on the steering wheel and glanced over at Spencer, who nodded resolutely.

"Think about it," Spencer said, while Aria leaned over from the backseat to listen. "'A shark needs water'? Where else could A have meant?"

"Yeah, because A is always so plain and simple," Hanna muttered, but took a right turn at the sign for the high school anyway.

She'd barely pulled up in front of the school when Spencer and Aria tumbled out, leaving her to follow. She caught up with them at the door, which Spencer had somehow managed to unlock already. Their footsteps echoed eerily as they hurried down the empty hall, Spencer in the lead with the two more vertically-challenged girls struggling to keep up, but all Hanna could focus on was the frantic beating of her own heart. Ever since she'd been sent that email from A, the picture of Emily… she hadn't been able to think of anything else. Emily was in danger, and nothing else mattered.

She didn't care that she had a quiz she'd probably fail tomorrow. She didn't care that her mother would get home and wonder where she was, since she hadn't had time to leave her a note. She didn't even care that she and Emily weren't a couple anymore. Someone had kidnapped Emily, someone was _hurting_ her, and Hanna wouldn't rest until she found her.

They paused at the door to the pool, and Hanna could tell the other two were as terrified as she was. But they didn't have as much to lose, so she slipped between them and yanked the door open without a word, ignoring the shocked looks they gave her. She didn't normally take control like this, but she couldn't stand to waste time as long as A still had Emily somewhere.

Spencer and Aria followed her in, but Hanna didn't pay much attention to them. She checked the pool, but it was empty, which assuaged her fears of finding some kind of incriminating evidence – or something worse, like a body. While she started checking around the bleachers, Spencer went over to the locker room, and Aria worked on breaking into the coach's office. A few minutes later they met back by the door, looking equally worried.

"I didn't find anything," Aria reported.

"Neither did I." Spencer followed her arms, partly because it was cold in the pool area, but also, Hanna suspected, to stop her hands from shaking.

Hanna ran a hand through her hair, thinking. "What are we even looking for?"

"I don't know." Spencer unfolded her arms and spread them wide, in a gesture that clearly indicated she was a clueless as they were. "I was so sure this is where A meant though…"

"Maybe we read the clue wrong," Aria suggested. "What did it say again?"

Hanna flipped open her phone and read the clue again. Spencer repeated it a few times, trying different inflections and rhythms, but it didn't seem to help. Aria chewed on her lip. And a frustrated silence fell over them as they realized just how helpless they were. A had Emily, for some undoubtedly horrible purpose, and the three of them had no clue how to help her. They were entirely at A's mercy, and Hanna had a feeling that's just how their omniscient tormentor liked it.

"So what do we do now?" Aria asked. "Do we keep looking?"

"I don't think there's anything here to find," Spencer said, hanging her head. "I guess I must have interpreted it wrong."

"Spence, don't blame yourself," Hanna said automatically, although she did feel a rush of something akin to anger. If they'd stopped to interpret the clue, maybe they would have been able to figure it out and saved some time. On the other hand, it seemed like even if they took their time they weren't going to get anywhere. And they only wanted what she did – to get Emily back.

"We should probably get out of here," Spencer suggested eventually. "The last thing we need right now is to be caught at school after hours."

Seeing no reason to stay, Hanna agreed, and followed the others back to the car. Once they were all seated, there was a tense pause as they tried to figure out what to do now. After a moment the silence was broken by an even more horrible sound: all of their cells going off at once. They shared a look, and then Spencer read the message aloud.

"_You look a little lost, girls. You'd better hurry up – you're in for a wave of disappointment if you don't find her soon. –A"_

"Well that's about as helpful as…" Hanna said, struggling to find a way to finish her sentence. She looked at Spencer. "Help me out? You're the one who's good at English. As helpful as…"

"As helpful as a neon sign," Aria said suddenly, clapping her hand to her mouth. Without an explanation she started up the car and pulled out of the parking lot, leaving the other two hurrying to do their seatbelts up.

"Not exactly what I was going for," Hanna said hesitantly, sharing a look with Spencer.

"I think I know where she is," Aria announced, navigating away from the school and onto the main road. "The clues do fit together."

When neither of the others said anything, Aria let out a huff of frustration – and possibly partly of pride.

"Help us out here, Aria," Spencer prompted. "The clues fit together how, exactly?"

"Water. Ticking clock. Waves of disappointment." With each word Aria tapped the steering wheel, emphasising a point the others didn't understand. "The old clock tower on the edge of town. A place which has – or _had_ – water.. The -"

Suddenly Spencer's eyes widened and she finished excitedly, "The water factory out on Waverly Road!"

Aria glanced back at her. "Way to step on my point, Spence. But yeah, that's the one."

"Great," Hanna said, slumping back into her seat. "That's all we need. An abandoned factory, at night, by ourselves, lured there by a psychotic stalker."

"I don't care where it is," Aria said resolutely. "If it can help us get Emily back, I'm game."

Hanna opened her mouth, but closed it again. There was no way she was arguing with that. She'd do whatever it took to get Emily back. She'd give her life to do it – although with the others by her side, she hoped it wouldn't come to that. Whatever A had in store for them, they had to get through it. For their own sake… and for Emily's. There were some things Hanna had never told her, and damn, did she need to. Things hadn't worked out between them in the past, but she sure as hell was not going to give up on her now.

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X


End file.
